Red Rock Casino Proposal Draws Opposing Rallies

by Launce Rake

LAS VEGAS -- Call it dueling rallies.

Opponents of a proposal to build a 300-foot tower along with a new casino and resort in Summerlin announced that they would hold a rally Friday to pressure developer Howard Hughes Corp. to abandon its support of the project.

Station Casinos scheduled a rally for today to show support for the project, which would include 1,500 rooms as well as the tower. The Station rally was scheduled to include include representatives from Summerlin communities, Station employees and unions supporting the construction project.

Some Summerlin residents and neighborhood activists from across the valley fear the tower would block views of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, a point that Station

Casinos representatives dispute. The Clark County Commission is scheduled to consider the land-use approval for the casino, including the 23-floor tower, on Dec. 3.

Station maintains the project would be the "crown jewel" of its casinos in the Las Vegas area, provide an outlying commercial and employment hub and benefit Summerlin with other amenities.

Opponents say they have gathered thousands of signatures in support of their position.

"We want a true neighborhood casino," said Gabriel Lither, leader of a group dubbed Summerlin Residents for Responsible Growth.

He said Station Casinos and Howard Hughes Corp. views the long-planned Summerlin Center as an intensive commercial center comparable to an urban downtown, a plan "vastly different than Howard Hughes portrayed Summerlin Center to the residents."

Tom Warden, Howard Hughes Corp. vice president, said his company has always planned a major hub of commercial, residential and office uses at the site on West Charleston Boulevard.

"We believe the Station Casinos plan is very appropriate for the Summerlin Center area," Warden said.

A protest won't change the company's collective mind, he said, although Howard Hughes Corp. will continue to meet with residents and environmentalists concerned about the impact on the casino on the area.

Lither said residents also would like Howard Hughes Corp. to rethink the 1999 approval for a 250-foot, mixed-use tower just east of the proposed casino, but Warden said that isn't likely.

"Those entitlements were earned through a very public process and are appropriate for the Summerlin Center design," Warden said. "This is the kind of design that is described as sustainable growth and smart growth."

Lesley Pittman, Station Casinos vice president, said her company isn't abandoning its plans either.

"We want to get the message out there that there's a lot of support for this project as designed," she said.

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